The monumental Abbey Road is the subject of a new documentary titled ‘If These Walls Could Sing,’ which had its London premiere two days ago. The film’s director is Paul McCartney’s daughter Mary McCartney, who made her first feature documentary debut. Speaking to BBC Radio 6 Music, Mary revealed she didn’t want to do the documentary in the first place.
“Well, it’s actually at the beginning of the documentary,” responded Mary when asked about her earliest recollections of the studio. “To be honest, when John [Battsek] asked me – I respect him so much because he’s such a great, award-winning documentary maker. He did ‘Searching For Sugar Man,’ ‘One Day In September,’ and things like that. But my knee-jerk reaction was to say no because I was like, ‘Look, maybe it’s a bit too close,’ and I’m very aware that I need to stand on my own two feet.”
Mary then revealed the incident that changed her mind, saying, “Then I messaged the woman who runs my mum’s archive, and I was like, ‘Do you have any baby pictures of me at Abbey Road?’ and she immediately texted me these pictures in front of the documentary, of me literally about three months old on a little rug in the corner of the studio. I was like, ‘Of course, I have to do this documentary now.’”
‘If These Walls Could Sing’ is about the history of Abbey Road Studios, which is highly associated with the Beatles. The documentary features the studio’s history, archive footage, and exclusive interviews, and it will be available to stream on Disney+ in the UK on January 6, 2023. Mary put so much effort into the film, but it appears like she initially didn’t want to accept Oscar-winning director John Battsek’s offer to be the director.
Although the Beatles is the first thing that comes to mind when talking about Abbey Road Studios, the documentary doesn’t revolve around the band. Apart from Paul McCartney, Elton John, the Gallagher brothers, Roger Waters, David Gilmour, Jimmy Page, and John Williams are in the casting. So, ‘If These Walls Could Sing’ has a star-studded cast, and it will be interesting to listen to the history of the iconic studio from these music icons.
